Interesting. Folks that have thumbed their nose at the Belt now seem to be dropping to pimp their school.

The WAC is most likely dead after all of this and more than likely two or three SunBelt members are gone..

If CUSA takes both FL teams, then what? Does the SB give up on FL?

If UNT goes does UTSA/TSU make sense over the likes of other FCS startups like Charlotte, App State, GSU or ODU?

Is there anyone in the WAC the Belt would want after the MWC expands? Does the Belt take LT or NMSU if they are still around?

Does the Belt go big enough to get to a title game?

So can we have WW go ahead and paint us a Birmingham before he takes off? I am being serious. Birmingham is a good sized market (#39 DMA), that likes sports and doesn't have a ton going on in their backyard (during March anyway). It looks like it was the home of SunBelt Tournaments back in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, and 1990. I am glad WW stopped having it at individual institutions because it wasn't fair and if the host school lost the attendance was crap. But Hot Springs is not working out that well in my opinion, let's go back to Birmingham.

EDIT:

Some quick math.
AVG distance to Hot Springs - 485 miles (as the bus drives)
AVG distance to Birmingham - 414 miles (as the bus drives)

Other bonuses include easier travel as mentioned by TrojanCampaign, and hopefully converting the BBVA from an alternate to a guarantee. Also, the shortest distance to the venue from a member institution goes from 55 miles (UALR) to 142 (Troy), somewhat eliminating home court advantage for any single institution. Also, Hot Springs population is 31,909, Birmingham is 212,237. Birmingham does not have a pro team, and a meeting of decent Belt teams when properly marketed would draw decent numbers from locals alone. Make this happen.

For the 100th time NO TO NMSU!

As long as Hot Springs keeps giving SBC such a great deal, I think they'll keep the tournament. I seriously doubt that anyone else is going to give us an arena with two courts so that we can have the Men & Women tournaments at the same time, essentially rent free, plus they just purchased a brand new SBC tourney floor last year. At the very least, it will periodically be held in HS IMHO. Of course the ppl from closer to Bham will want it there, & ppl from closer to HS will want it there (including myself), but it all comes down to $$$ & HS is giving us the best deal (& last time they had presentations do decide the site, it wasn't even close). Hot Springs actually WANTED the tournament, the other cities were apathetic...that's the difference.

(11-04-2011 10:10 AM)HoustonCajun Wrote:  

(11-03-2011 09:27 PM)wkuhilltopperfan Wrote:  Problem is the sunbelt has made a bad name for itself mainly because we had a idiot comish! Things are looking much better lately for the sunbelt but I think a team like memphis thinks to much of itself and has to much pride to ever join the belt.

The Sun Belt is a nice conference. BUT, unfortunatley, the Sun Belt name has a stench to it that it may never overcome. It will not be able to attract teams like USM or Memphis because it is perceived as the worst of the worst conferences in the country, even though ESPN says it is better than the MAC and WAC and only slightly below C-USA. It will be difficult to ever overcome the name. Perhaps renaming the Sun Belt might be a good thing.

.
I think you are right. It can be overcome but it will take winning games in basketball and football. I'm not talking about 1 or 2 schools but just about everyone in the league. It will take some time, at one time the SBC was thought of as a Top 10 basketball league.

I think for the CUSA-MWC alliance to work properly, neither side can have more than 10 schools, so I only see CUSA grabbing North Texas to replenish the Dallas market and keep UTEP, Tulsa, and Rice happy. The Sun Belt would probably be able to stand pat with 9 football members + UALR. Perfect scheduling in both sports.

Now if the alliance falls apart, that's where things go haywire, because who knows what CUSA would want to do. My choice, if I were in change, would be to add both FAU and FIU for Florida markets and recruiting. I feel those two will develop better as a pair and splitting them would slow the pace of athletic growth for both.

I wonder if the Sun Belt might not actually take pity on the WAC, at that point, and decide to stay out of Texas. With the Florida teams gone, there are obviously no options in that area, so why not look at Appalachian State and Georgia State? They don't stretch the footprint much and have great development potential.

If both Florida schools left, the Sun Belt would have no other Florida choice - at least until (and if) a host of tiny schools grew their programs to I-A. They include Florida Gulf Coast in the Fort Myers area, Ave Maria in Southwest Florida, Warner in Lake Wales and Edward Waters and Jacksonville in Jacksonville, and Stetson in DeLand. And maybe West Florida? I know of none with absolute plans to go to I-A, although FGCU has studied the move.

(11-04-2011 09:10 PM)Lolly Popp Wrote:  I wonder if the Sun Belt might not actually take pity on the WAC, at that point, and decide to stay out of Texas. With the Florida teams gone, there are obviously no options in that area, so why not look at Appalachian State and Georgia State? They don't stretch the footprint much and have great development potential.

Benson has been trying to steal our teams forever! You think Waters (or his successor) cares anything about them?

Unless there's an incentive for keeping them alive, he probably hasn't given them a second thought.

(11-04-2011 09:35 PM)BMarkey Wrote:  If both Florida schools left, the Sun Belt would have no other Florida choice - at least until (and if) a host of tiny schools grew their programs to I-A. They include Florida Gulf Coast in the Fort Myers area, Ave Maria in Southwest Florida, Warner in Lake Wales and Edward Waters and Jacksonville in Jacksonville, and Stetson in DeLand. And maybe West Florida? I know of none with absolute plans to go to I-A, although FGCU has studied the move.

FIU and FAU have been great for the Sun Belt - but I'd be perfectly happy without a Florida school in the Sun Belt. I don't think having FIU or FAU in the Sun Belt helped stAte recruit Ryan Aplin one iota. The tighter the conference footprint, the better.

It might hurt Troy, MTSU and a few other schools that heavily recruit Florida. Troy has 30-plus Florida kids every year.

The issue is, almost all signs point towards a WAC collapse sometime after Thanksgiving. If that happens, alot of teams suddenly become available, and I find it hard to believe the SBC wouldnt go after either of the Texas twins or La Tech if they are available.

Especially if CUSA raids

(11-04-2011 10:28 PM)BMarkey Wrote:  It might hurt Troy, MTSU and a few other schools that heavily recruit Florida. Troy has 30-plus Florida kids every year.

Florida is where a ton of WKU recruits hail from as well. Coach Taggart is a native, as are a few of our assistants. I would think we would prefer having a Florida school in conference. If we didn't we would just have to try and schedule OOC games with Florida schools.

I don't think we will add Florida schools just to add Florida schools. Who would you add? West Florida?

There are too many non-Florida options that are far better choices than any of the Florida schools that are not FBS. I'm willing to be persuaded otherwise.

I also agree that the benefits of a close knit geographic conference outweigh "expanding the footprint".


As for the Sunbelt tournament.

Birmingham? Not sure that is the solution. The geography is fine. But not sure about the facilities there or the city.

Would really like to give South Haven a try.

Hot Springs is a great central location... for the western division. You guys got to have it in your backyard for a while. Now its time to share.

When someone beats or matches the Hot Springs bid it is time to look at other sites.

(11-05-2011 10:31 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  When someone beats or matches the Hot Springs bid it is time to look at other sites.

This.

Birmingham would be fine, but they have to want us.

If C-USA and the MWC lose the named schools, then the gap between the Sun Belt and those conferences will shrink somewhat no matter who they add. I think minimizing the hit is one reason why they will expand. That and because they need to try and appease the T.V. money men. Expansion seems to always boil down to maximizing power and money.

As for the Sun Belt, if we don't lose any programs, the gap between our conference and C-USA will shrink dramatically. And, within a few years we could be at a point where the Sun Belt contends for the top non AQ spot.

Having said that, any Sun Belt team invited would accept an offer from C-USA.

As for expanding the Sun Belt, I think it's still too early to speculate. We are just now at a point where we can speculate about possible C-USA candidates. I'm no fan of UTSA, but I can see the value in the San Antonio market. Texas State should not even be in the discussion. I'm thinking when it's all over the Belt may only need 1 team to get to 8. 8 is not so bad. It would mean less teams to spit the money with. If the Belt sticks to its policy of not adding from the FCS, there would really be only two candidates for the spot, LA Tech and NMSU. LA Tech's administration has marginalized the Sun Belt in past statements, so I say NMSU would be the better of the two. If the new commissioner changes policy and considers FCS programs, UTSA would keep the Belt in Texas and provide a large market, but I think Appy State would be the best FCS candidate.

best targets for the SBC after CUSA expansion...

1.La Tech*
2.NMSU*
3.UAB*
4.UTSA
5.Tx St.
6.GSU either one
7.App St
8.ODU


La Tech is the best program but i just dont like how they have talked crap on the belt, we could survive without them

If NT is still in the Sun Belt when all of this is said and done, and it is a possibility, I would want La Tech and UTSA/Texas state added. IF the SBC didn't lose any teams, this wouldn't be a bad conference.

West: ASU, NT, ULL, ULM, La. Tech, UTSA or Texas State

East: FAU, FIU, MTSU, WKU, USA, Troy

(11-05-2011 12:15 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  If C-USA and the MWC lose the named schools, then the gap between the Sun Belt and those conferences will shrink somewhat no matter who they add. I think minimizing the hit is one reason why they will expand. That and because they need to try and appease the T.V. money men. Expansion seems to always boil down to maximizing power and money.

As for the Sun Belt, if we don't lose any programs, the gap between our conference and C-USA will shrink dramatically. And, within a few years we could be at a point where the Sun Belt contends for the top non AQ spot.

Having said that, any Sun Belt team invited would accept an offer from C-USA.

As for expanding the Sun Belt, I think it's still too early to speculate. We are just now at a point where we can speculate about possible C-USA candidates. I'm no fan of UTSA, but I can see the value in the San Antonio market. Texas State should not even be in the discussion. I'm thinking when it's all over the Belt may only need 1 team to get to 8. 8 is not so bad. It would mean less teams to spit the money with. If the Belt sticks to its policy of not adding from the FCS, there would really be only two candidates for the spot, LA Tech and NMSU. LA Tech's administration has marginalized the Sun Belt in past statements, so I say NMSU would be the better of the two. If the new commissioner changes policy and considers FCS programs, UTSA would keep the Belt in Texas and provide a large market, but I think Appy State would be the best FCS candidate.

I can understand not being a fan of Texas State, but to say we don't even belong in the discussion is ignorant in my opinion. In fact, I think we have a similar profile to a lot of Belt schools.

34000+ enrollment
$20 million budget
Good baseball and softball
Good facilities (30K expansion to on-campus FB stadium, new BSB/SB stadiums, new T&F complex)
Endowment very similar to North Texas
Two major airports nearby
Hot co-eds
FB attendance averaging over 15k this year in a 16k stadium